SDSU Aztecs batter Vikings, 53-20, in season opener

Portland State University scored 20 points on San Diego State University’s defense in last Saturday’s non-conference football opener at Snapdragon Stadium but the Aztec offense scored 53 points on the Vikings defense to have the last word in the teams’ season opener in front of 26,913 fans.

It marked the first win for SDSU as a member of the restructured Pac-12 conference.

 “The energy from the community was outstanding and the guys fed off that as we went,” Aztec head coach Sean Lewis said. 

Portland State took an early 6-0 lead on field goals of 22 and 35 yards by Helix Charter High School alumnus Joshua Hossman Lees in the opening stages of the first quarter.

But the Aztecs quickly turned the tables with 29 unanswered points for a 29-6 halftime lead.

SDSU quarterback Jayden Denegal hit Nathan Acevedo (Lincoln) for a nine-yard touchdown strike to put the hosts ahead 7-6. Cathedral Catholic alum Lucky Sutton scored on a one-yard run to push the lead to 14-6 and Denegal then fired a 40-yard touchdown pass to Justius Lowe. A successful two-point conversion  by Bert Emanuel Jr. advanced the Aztec lead to 22-6.

Sutton scored the second of his three touchdowns on the night from 13 yards out for the 23-point halftime advantage.

The visitors answered back on a 10-yard passing score from signal-caller Gabe Downing to Terrence Louville to start the second half. Hossman Lees’ PAT made the score 29-13.

The play of the night then transpired as Jaylon Hawkins proceeded to return the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a SDSU touchdown.

36-13 SDSU. 

It marked the first 100-yard kickoff return for the Aztecs since 2021 and the sixth 100-yard kickoff return for SDSU since 2015.

In his honor, Hawkins was named the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week.

The 53 points set a stadium record.

Sutton tacked on his third TD of the game to propel the hosts in front 43-13.

The Aztecs kept going. Cooper DiLeva booted a 31-yard field goal and SDSU led comfortably 46-13 early in the fourth quarter.

Downing scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak to trim the Aztec lead to 46-20.

SDSU closed out scoring on a two-yard rushing touchdown by Jordin Thomas..

Despite the disparity on the scoreboard, the actual yardage between the teams was close: 394 to 375 in the Aztecs’ favor.

Portland State held as 280-157 passing advantage while SDSU was on top 237-95 in the ground game.

Denegal completed 12 of 17 passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while Stone Saunders was two of four for 20 yards.

Sutton rushed 18 times for 58 net  yards with a statement making three scores. Thomas gained 38 yards with one touchdown.

Lowe had two catches for 56 yards with one touchdown  while Acevedo had four catches for 17 yards and one score. 

There were a lot of new names in the SDSU scoring column.

DiLeva collected nine kicking points. Tashi Dorje had two punts for 94 yards.

Isaiah Green and Mike Lindsay each recorded one interception. Hawkins had three kick returns for 141 yards. Parker Threatt had one return for 30 yards.

The Aztecs also blocked two kicks in the game — one each by Jalani McLaughlin and Oberhiri Eyafe.

Downing was active through the airwaves with 31 completions on 52 passing attempts for 280 yards with one passing touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for one touchdown.

Delon Thompson keyed the Vikings with 80 rushing yards on 20 carries.

Louville had 10 pass receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown. Tanner Beaman had four catches for 63 yards.

Defensviely, Logan Lisherner recorded nine tackles while Jaxtus Helmstetler and Lono Sidamon each logged seven tackles with Sidamon registering one sack. Isaac Vedford had one interception.

Hossman Lees had a jubilant homecoming with eight kicking points – perfect on two field goals and two PAT conversions.

The Helix place-kicker was 16 for 20 on field goal attempts and 35 of 37 on extra-point tries his junior and senior seasons as a Highlander. He played the 2025 season at San Diego Mesa College and was just as successful at the community college level with seven for 13 in field goal kicking and 33 of 33 in PAT conversions.

As a junior season at Portland State, he has 14 points so far with three field goals and five extra-points.

The Vikings fell to 0-2 following a previous 31-24 loss to UC Davis in the teams’ season opener on Aug. 29.

Hossman Lees had a jubilant homecoming with eight kicking points — perfect on two field goals and two PAT conversions.

The Helix place-kicker was 16 for 20 on field goal attempts and 35 of 37 on extra-point tries his junior and senior seasons as a Highlander. He played the 2025 season at San Diego Mesa College and was just as successful at the community college level with seven for 13 in field goal kicking and 33 of 33 in PAT conversions.

In his junior season at Portland State, he has 14 points so far with three field goals and five extra-points.

The Aztecs certainly cannot rest on their laurels with an upcoming non-conference tilt at UCLA (1-0) this coming Saturday (at 4:15 p.m. in the Pasadena Rose Bowl. The Bruins are coming off a 5-24 victory against the Cal Bears last Saturday.